why do they wear poppies in england

The Royal British Legion has started this year's Poppy Appeal. In the days leading up to 11 November, you will see people on the TV and in the streets wearing a poppy. This is a symbol to remember those who have given their lives in war. Millions of poppies will be given out over the coming days by tens of thousands of volunteers. Why do we wear poppies? The reason poppies are used to remember those who have given their lives in battle is because they are the flowers which grew on the battlefields after World War One ended. Poppies growing in a field in France, which used to be a battlefield This is described in the famous World War One poem In Flanders Fields, which you can read below. Ever since then, they have come to be a symbol of remembering not just those who gave their lives in World War One, but all those who have died on behalf of their country. Every year, volunteers make poppies available throughout the country and people make a donation in order to get their poppy. The money raised from these donations is used to help servicemen and women who are still alive, whose lives have been changed by wars that they fought in.

Former soldiers remember those who have lost their lives in war on Remembrance Sunday. You can see one at the front is carrying a wreath of poppies It might help them to get jobs and somewhere to live, and will also help older war veterans with any support they may need. It is also used to help those who have lost loved ones because of wars. Where did it all start? Wearing poppies like this to raise money to help people who had fought in wars started in 1921. This was year that the Royal British Legion was founded on 15 May. However, back then the poppies weren't made out of paper like they are today. They were made out of silk. They sold out straight away and raised more than бе106,000 for those whose lives had been affected by the war, by helping to find them jobs and somewhere to live once they were no longer serving in the army. In 1922, a factory was set up where disabled former soldiers were employed to make the poppies. The poppies are made out of two plastic parts and two paper parts, and must be assembled by volunteers. Here you can see a pile of the green stems used to make poppies This factory is still running - and producing many millions of poppies each year - to this very day.

While the majority of people wear their poppy on their chest, there is no right or wrong way to wear a poppy. As the Royal British Legion says: "We only ask you to wear it with pride. " What is happening this year? For the 2017 Poppy Appeal, the poem mentioned earlier in this guide is playing an important role. That's because the words of the poem have been written out in poppies in seven different places - at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, on Dunkirk Beach in France, on the White Cliffs of Dover, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, in Cardiff Bay, at Salford Quays in Greater Manchester and outside the Sage in Newcastle. The letters of the words have been made up of groups of poppies, so it looks like the poem is growing from the ground. You can read In Flanders Fields below. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. - We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. - Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. OUR BRIT SAYS: WE don t often get too serious in Ask A Brit, but this time of year can be sombre in the UK. You may notice that many people start to wear poppies during October and November. These are to commemorate soldiers who have died in battle since World War I. All of this culminates on November 11, called Remembrance (or Armistice) Day. It is the day that World War I finally ended in 1918; a four-year war that killed more than nine million soldiers. At 11am on November 11, a two minutes silence is observed across the country to commemorate the dead. Even though Remembrance Day is a very British affair, the idea of wearing poppies originated in 1920s USA. The use of the poppies was inspired by a poem written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in 1915. Many of the high casualty battles took place in poppy fields and their red petals came to signifying the blood spilled during the conflict.

Poppies have also been adopted by veterans in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Poppies are sold in the UK by the Royal British Legion except in Scotland where they re sold by the Earl Haig Fund. A team of former soldiers put together every poppy sold; a process that can take most of the year. All poppies are bought by donation, so you can choose the amount of money you put into the collection buckets or tins. Some people start to wear poppies on their clothing from mid-October, although it s usually the penultimate week of the month that collections start. Some believe that men should wear their poppy on the left of their coat/jacket and women on the right, but the Royal British Legion say that the only rule is to wear it with pride. There are a variety of poppies available to wear. The white poppy represents peace, while purple poppies are worn to remember service animals that died in battle. These poppies are usually worn as an alternative to the red poppy (or to complement it) and are created by companies separate from the Royal British Legion. Us Brits have some unwritten rules for poppy etiquette, which we have.